Elemental
by elementaltrilogy
Summary: Elementians are people who can control the 6 elements. water,ice,earth,air,fire and metal. when they turn ey go through the claiming. its a ritual that determines wether you are dark or ght ones are safe,darks are powerful or sometimes Elemental. Elementals are dark and ey can control all 6 elements. this is a story about Chris Rynes,ice Elementian.
1. its Autumn Again

Mom did a great job with the wind and James did a great job with the leaves. Me? I'm not due till winter. It's not as much fun for us Ice Elementians. We only get to work during winter. Mom is an Air Elementian and James is an Earth Elementian. They usually control Autumn and Spring. My family are an odd bunch of Elementians, almost all elements in one family. water, ice, earth and air. We're only missing metal and only know your Element during birth. For example, after a child is born the parents will look at the left wrist for an Elementian birthmark. Ice Elementians have birthmarks shaped like a snowflake. Water Elementians have a Crescent moon. Earth Elementians have a tree . And the list goes on for three other elements.

"Christopher Anderson Rynes! You better not be brewing up a snowstorm in there or else you will spend the rest of this week eating it and wake up son you're gonna be late for your first day" mom started banging on my door, making me realize its seven thirty and I stil got my pj's on. "I'm getting ready mom, I'll be down in a sec. Ask James to get the engine running" I mumbled with a mouthful of toothpaste.I got my clothes on, my backpack and my gloves, just in case my hands go blue, yes tht does happen sometimes, and head downstairs to see the table loaded with food.

"You aren't gonna leave till every bit of food is off your plate, Chris. Now start munching if you don't wanna be late"

"Yes, ma'am" I said while stuffing my face with toast and eggs

At the corner of my eye, I could see my brother, James. James is 18 this year, means he went through _the Claiming. The Claiming_ is a ritual done when an Elementian turns 17 and they're powers are at their highest peak. During the ritual, you are required to put your wrist-where the birthmark is- through a gushing flow of magical water over a stone bowl. The ritual also tells if you are _Dark _or _Light . _James is of course a Light. He is so nice and loving, that the chances of him becoming dark are inevitable.

"Come on baby brother youre gonna be late for the first day of Everton High" James snickered.

James and I head to school in his Volvo he got for his birthday. "So, you nervous? " he said will sipping his Starbucks we got on the way.

"Not really, I dont think anyone will notice me" I said while running my fingers through my black tuft of hair.

"You kidding me, kiddo?even the senior girls I try to woo are thinking only of you" he said while stifling a smile.

"Hey James, can you tell me more about the Elemental kind?"

"The Elementals are _Dark _and _Evil_. They dont do anything good and and during the claiming, their birthmark changes .To something like an open lotus with a diamond in the middle. The Elementals have power over all elements and they don't use it for good but instead for revenge" he said .

"We're here" he said while taking his bag in the back seat. Wow, the school was bigger than I thought. James went to walk with his budddies so I have to walk in alone. With my head ducked , I walk slowly, making sure I dont bump into anyone. For once, I think it'll be okay. Until I bumped into this brunette girl and made her drop her books.

I kneel and pick her books up while constantly repeating the word 'sorry'. Then when I looked up, I notice something eyes are a fiery red. She looked into my blue eyes with awe. I help her up to her feet and introduced myself.

"Hey, my name is Chris, Chris Rynes"

"I'm Jane. Jane Campbell"she said with a voice like silk.

"Your eyes, they're red"

"It's nothing really" she hesitated.

"I'm gonna be late, nice meeting you, Chris" she said with a smile on her face.

I better head to class too, I'm gonna miss History. but that girl Jane, is she a Fire Elementian? She seems to be hiding it from me.


	2. Jane

I run to Mr Norton's class for history. I enter and choose a seat two feat away from Mr Norton. I pull out my pen and a note book. I started to write stories that I hope will happen in high school. My first kiss, my first lover, my high school buddy, my first prom, my senior year and my graduation. It might be too early to think about it but I think I got my life planned out.

"Welcome, Freshmen. I am Mr Norton. I will be your History teacher. It's most likely that I don't know you, so I want everyone of you to stand ane introduce yourselves" Mr Norton said while settling his desk.

One by one, we stand up and introduce ourselves, it's weird how they clap when a "cool kid" introduces. I dont think thats very nice. Thats like, racism, only popularity kind of racist.

The person infront of me stands, and I know that voice, its my neighbour Aiden. He's a shy one. Like me, only nerdy. Then the sound of running footsteps shock me. In time she reaches this class, its my turn to stand.

"Um, hi everyone. ...I'm Chris can call me Chris. I'm a local-"

I stop half way to see that Jane entered. Jane? I thought she went in earlier than me.

"Uh sorry sir im late sir, I went to the wrong class just now" she said.

"First day is always the toughest. Choose a seat, miss-"

"Miss Campbell, please" Jane said.

She sat at the seat next to me. "Hey, you remember me Chris?" Jane said to me. "Sure I do, the girl I bumped into" I said while stifling a laugh. "Class, open your textbooks to page 18. Read and understand it cause there will be a pop quiz later on" Mr Nortin said while pushing his glasses on the bridge of his nose. I read and memorized, so I decided to move on to th next the page. On that page, a saying was encrypted.

**PEOPLE WHO FORGET HISTORY ARE CONDEMNED TO REPEAT IT.**

Repeat it?! What suddenly if I forgot about the union the dinosaurs will exist? If they ever do, im naming my tyrannosaurus 'Eddy'.

We took the test for about an hour or so, and the bell rang. Mr Norton excused us and we went to second period. I stopped by my locker to put a few stuff.

Then she came.


	3. The Start Of Friendship

"Hey Chris! What class is next for you? " Jane said slaming my locker shut. How she talks is like we're already the best of friends. I check my time table and see the initals in bold,**CHEM.**Means that Chemistry is up. "I've got Chemistry, what about you?" I said. "I have French class" she said while showing me her french dictionary. "Um, about your eyes... can you tell me?" she looked at me puzzled, then her face slowly softened back.

"_Je suis la fille en feu,_ Chris" she said while running to class in those high waisted shorts. _Je suis la fille en feu. What the hell does that mean?_

That doesnt matter now. I have to get to class. I got to class, with a huge periodic table on the wall. I guess Mrs Harrington is a nerd too. We did some tests , some exercises and went for recess.

In the cafeteria, I could see an ocean of people.I started to doubt if I'll survive high school at all. I went to take my tray, and asked for an apple and a turkey sandwich. I grab my tray and head to an empty table. All the kids are sitting with their friends, and do I have any? Wait, I think I do cause Jane saw me and waved at my direction. I smiled. Because the girl I just met is now my friend. Thats a pleasant sight to see. I walk to her direction and place my tray across hers at her table. "So this is the beginning of our friendship eh?" she said while munching on a bran muffin.

"Seems like though, haha" I said while biting my apple.

After I ate the apple, I took out my phone and google translated the French word she said earlier. It means 'I am the girl on fire'. Oh now I know, she is a Fire Elementian. "You a Fire Elementian? "

"Yeah , what about you?"

"Cant you tell?"

"Nope not really"

"I'll show you"

I took her hand, poured a fair amount of water, and cupped her hand in mine. I opened my hand, and 2 snowflakes were flying outta them. "Wow, you're an Ice Elementian? That's awesome!" she said with awe.

Hehe, I guess I am awesome.


	4. The Walk of Ice And Fire

Schools over, and I headed to my locker to put my books and call James. As I dialed his number, I got a call from him. It's like he knows I was gonna call him! I picked up the phone.

"Hello James, where are you?"

"I'm at Jacqueline's place, I cant send you home. Do you think you can take the bus? " he said.

"No I think I'll walk, thanks for actually telling me"

"Tell mom I'll be back by eight, I've got a project slash party to go to"

"Sure bro, see ya later" I ended the call.

I slam my locker shut and lean against it. Why today of all days? Suddenly I was passed by Jane, I caught up to her and asked if I could walk with agreed and put in her headphones as we talked and walked our way home. She was more sociable than she looks.

"What song are you listening to?" I said nervously.

"Pass Me By by R5. It's good stuff" she said.

"R5, it's a growing name right?" I said trying to not be embarrassed.

"Yeah, rapidly growing" she said while smiling widely.

We were coming close to my home, I decided to ask if she'd want to meet my parents. I hope my parents wouldn't look at it the wrong way, like if I brought my girlfriend home on the first day of school with a baby inside of her. that will never happen. But should I ask? I don't know. Better not. Don't wanna risk anything. "There it is, my home" she said. "Hey you're the one who lives across Aiden! Well whaddayaknow" I said with a shocked tone. We both smiled and laughed. "Hey can I have your number? Ya know, you're kinda the only friend I have" oh I just hope she'll give it.

"Sure!"

We got into our on houses. As I shut the door, I could hear dad talking on the phone. Probably about work. As he saw me coming in, he ended the call.

"Hey Dad"

"Hey kiddo, how was school?"

"It was cool, nothin big. If you count meeting another Elementian as nothing big" I said while bursting with laughter.

"Let me guess. It's the girl across the street. The Fire Elementian"

"Yup, she is a good egg"

"She your new girl?" he said while winking at me

"Don't be silly dad, she's just a friend"

"Okay... now go upstairs and settle yourself"

I went upstairs and dumped my bag behind the door. I hopped into my warm and comfy bed. Pulling the sheets on me, feeling the comfort. Without noticing, I started to drift off.


	5. Dreams And Dads

I'm in a chamber, with a glass chandelier. There's a bowl of water and what seems like a waterfall above it. Where am I? As I drew closer to the bowl, a dark monster emerged from the bowl. It crawled out of it and toward me. I panic and trip on my shoelace and fall to the ground where I see that monster multiply and surround me, burying itself in my very soul. And I scream as it consumes me, making sure every breath I use is for screaming.

I was shook back to reality with my father's voice. "Chris are you alright? You were screaming on the top of your lungs! Are you okay , son?" he sounded awfully worried. It was all a bad dream. A really really bad dream. Heavily breathing, I said "I'm okay dad, at least I think I am. It was nothing. Just a nightmare". That made me think, I wasn't sleeping at night, it was afternoon when I slept. A nightmare during daytime. The logic ."Come on son , go downstairs and get a glass of water and hit the showers"

I went downstairsairs for a glass of water, and to the bathroom for a shower. I undressed myself and turned the hot water pipe and try to relax as it rains on me. That was the most frightening dream I have ever had. It was as if I really was being attacked. I tried to forget the dream and continue bathing.

Just as I got out of the bathroom, I got a text message from Jane.

"_Hey Chris, u free? can we meet rn? _" was written on my screen.

"_Yeah, where do yo wanna meet me?"_ I replied.

"_In the woods, near the crooked tree with a hole in the middle_" she replied

"_Jane, its almost nighttime, are you sure?_" I texted worrily

"_Trust me, Chris_" with that ended, I ran downstairs and told dad I was going to meet someone. Surprisingly he said ok. So I ran out the door, grabbed my bike and cycled all the way to Cuithermen Woods. When I got there, I parked my bike at a tree. And ran through the woods with a flashlight. Running deep into the woods until I found a girl sitting on the tree. Jane. She's crying. I rushed to her and sat next to her on the tree, hanging on to a branch. "Hey, whats wrong?" I say in effort of consoling her. "It's my dad. he slapped my mom and called her 'a horrible excuse for a human'. That's not even the worst part. My daddy ran away". Wow, I guess she's having a pretty bad first day of highschool. I gave her a comforting hug, asking her to cry it all out. As I feel her head on my chest, she says something. "It's almost like my dad is an Elemental, he has so much rage."

I dont say anything, I just continue to hug her, till she falls asleep. And I did too.


	6. Rough Night

A vibration wakes me from my sleep. And the vibration is my mom calling me, the call made me realize that its 8 pm and im not even home yet. I am so dead. "Jane, wake up. It's 8 pm, we gotta go home" I whisper. In a sleepy voice she replied, "Give me five minutes, Jack" and she continued to sleep. Jack? She must've thought her brother was waking her up. Silly girl. I decided that the best idea was to carry her down. And so I did, carefully. When I got on solid ground I carried her home. Leaving my bicycle here. I didn't care really. So I walked all the way to her house, and built an ice staircase to her window. All the humans are probably having dinner now, so I doubt they'll notice. I place her in her bed, leaving a note. Suddenly her mother saw me. She was shocked and she was about to scream when I cupped my hand over her mouth. "Shhh it's okay I'm her friend, she just fell asleep that's all. She is safe". That calmed her down. I looked into her eyes, and noticed they're brown. She isn't an Elementian. She's a human. "Thank you" she said. I smiled at her and went down the ice staircase. I destroyed it while am at it. After there was no debris of it, I decided to go home.

I opened the door to find mom and dad looking at me with their arms folded. Oh no. I'm in a hell of a lot of trouble. I feel my Adam's apple bobbing. I swallow hard.

"You're home early, son" my dad says.

"I can explain-" I hesitate.

"Your stairs of ice have said enough. You're grounded for the night"

"But im 16!" I try to convince them.

"16 and irresponsible that is" mom snapped.

I couldnt do anything else to stop them, so I went upstairs. And did my homework. And went to sleep. Except I couldn't sleep, so I read a book. The Hunger Games Trilogy: Catching Fire. It's an interesting book really. When it comes to books like these, I'm a nerd. I've read the Beautiful Creatures Saga, Twilight Saga, The Infernal Devices, The Mortal Instruments, Harry Potter, Divergent Trilogy, The Fault In Our Stars and loads of other books.


	7. An Elementian Training Session

It's an average human's saturday, no school, no classes, no nothing. Just lying on our bed, building castles in the air. Not this family though. This year we decide to improvise our Saturday. By learning about Elementian history. Boring, but acceptable. Dad called us down for breakfast, since mom is off to work. Yes, I know. It's a Saturday and she's working. All in a Doctor's work. "Come on you two, I made these for us. Please eat it" dad said placing a plate of flapjacks on the table. I cut a piece and shove it in my mouth. It's quite good, honestly. So I took a few and stuffed my face with it. James did it too. We did our dishes and sat back on the table. Dad got up and headed towards the bookshelf. He pulled out a gigantic book with a symbol like the Elemental kind, but instead of a diamond, there is a sword in the middle. This must be the history book of Elementians. Wow.

"Everything I know is in this book. I've grown up with it. I remember my dad telling me and teaching me every single trick of water bending" dad blows the layer of dust on the book. He opened the book , and I was shocked to see hundreds of thousands of tricks. This is an Elementians haven. "This book has to be protected from the Elementals. If they get their hands on it, the whole world is screwed. I depending on you not to tell any human about this. If you do, you will suffer the consequences". He seemed pretty strict about the not telling humans part. What could they possibly do? Drive us crazy with _Flappy Bird?_ They can't even move a pencil without touching it.

Dad flipped through the index untill he found earth bending. Of course, the eldest is taught first. I saw my brother studying the techniques with total focus. With one arm raised, he stomped his foot and a tree sprouted out of the mums daisy pot. And that tree grew three feet high within a minute. Thank god the pot was at the backyard. "That's a good one, James. Now try to make a wall out of dirt" dad spoke while examining the tree. James nodded and he gestured his hand as if he was about to hit a table but he wasn't. He hit the ground. And a wall parted dad and James. A wall about 5 feet tall and half foot thick. Pretty impressive.

The training went on for hours and hours untill night fall. James looked as if he has been running a marathon. Tired as hell. Tomorrow, its my turn. "Christopher , you better get some sleep. Tomorrow is gonna be a real tiring day for you, son" dad patted my back. Of course , he wanted to make sure I get some sleep so he pushed me up the stairs and into my room and on my bed. He also took away my phone and other gadgets to make sure nothing kept me up. He even tucked me in. I closed my eyes, and slowly fell asleep.


	8. Books ,Ice and Everything Nice

"First, I'm gonna see how well you control your powers. I want you to freeze this glass of water without cracking the glass" dad placed a glass of water on the garden table. I focused on the glass, telling myself to freeze only the water. It's trickier than it sounds. I focused on the glass and waved my hand above it. I froze the water and the cracked the glass. Dammit. "Give it another try, Chris" dad said placing a new glass of water on the table. "Channel your emotions into this, find the point between mild anger and rage. That should help". This time, I focused only on the water. Muting out everything, my dad's voice, the chirps of birds, our neighbours lawn sprinkler, everything has to be out of my head. I waved my hand above the water and with my eyes closed, I successfully froze the water and not the glass. Huzzah, Christopher!

"I see that you can control your powers nicely, that's the first step to everything. Now, look at page 589, it's a trick to make ice sculptures and evaporate it This way you don't have to destroy and make a ruckus like you did at the Campbell's home. But the staircase was impressive". Dad gave me time to read and practice those tricks, boy was this hard. I spent the whole day with that heavy book, reading, mastering, practicing. It was like home school for young Elementians. Except you are being taught by your own dad.

I laid on my stomach on the floor of my bedroom, with the book. When I thought that I've learned enough, I slammed the book shut. And headed to the balcony of my room. It's almost sundown, so if there's a time to test my powers, it's now. So I decided to make the water fountain at my other neighbours house frozen. I didnt really care about Mr Kelvin. He's a jobless drunkard who occasionaly pours vodka in his fountain and use that water to feed his cat. Sick man. I watched as the frozen water glisten in the sunset light. Beautiful. I focused on it, and made it evaporate. The Book does come in handy after all.


	9. Winter Is Waiting For Me Tomorrow

It's almost winter. Hell yeah! Time for me to work my magic and freeze things on purpose publicly! Of course, it won't be as mucn fun for Jane, she's gonna be wrapped up in layers of clothing. A term she calls, 'wrapped up like a warm, toasty Cinnamon Bun'. I head downstairs to have breakfast and walk to school. James's Volvo is at the repair shop, an engine failure.

I walk through the hallways, and notice something dead creepy. A couple of Jocks are winking at me, like in a flirtatious way. Like seriously, I'm okay if girls do that but MEN?! I respect gay people, but I do not want to be gay. "Hey, Jack Frost. What you up to this winter?" I was shocked by Jane's voice and burst into laughter. "Jack Frost? Do I look like a white haired boy with a blue sweater and stick?" I stifled a laugh. "almost". Oh Jane, you made my day. "Fine, I'll call you Cinnamon Chillies".

"Jack Frost and his trusted sidekick, Cinnamon Chillies. Pretty cool haha" Jane said while scrolling through her pictures in her iPhone. we stoped at our lockers and took our books for 1st period. Chemistry. we leaned on her locker waiting for the bell to ring. "Here, I took this yesterday, from my brothers room. You made this, didnt you?" she showed me a photo she took of Mr Kelvin's water fountain. Only it was frozen. I can't lie to her, it's not my nature to. "Yeah , I learned a new trick. Evaporating". "Oh cool, Chris!" she said while watching her favourite Vine Celebrity, WhoisDsharp. It's this violin guy who's crazy amazing. Suddenly, the bell rung.

"Come on Jane, we're gonna be late for Mrs Harrington's class" I said putting my arm around her like she's already my best friend. Which judging by how we talk, we already are.


	10. Cinnamon Chillies Gets Real

School's done for today, Jane and I decided to walk home together everyday. You know, to get to know eachother more. We put our books in our lockers and walk down the hallway towards the main door.I took my leather jacket and she took her new book, The Catcher In The Rye. "So, this is your new book in your collection? Looks interesting" I said in a smooth tone. "I hope so, it's a gift from Daddy, before he ran away that is. Wherever he is, I hope he's safe" she said while pressing that book to her chest, or possibly her heart. It must be hard for her, to accept the fact that her father left, her brother is a dark one, and her mother is a human. That must be a big salad bowl of emotions. Without any warning, the Jocks that were staring at me came to both of us.

"Hey there Chris Rynes, are you made of copper and tellerium? 'Cause you are kinda CuTe". How the hell did he know I'm a science nerd? "Oh, who is this? Is this your girlfriend? Oh she is a beauty" they said while snatching Jane's book and making a run for it. "Hey give it back!" Jane and I shout at those bullies. We chased them, running as we try to keep our rage at a safe level. As you might have guessed, the Metal, Fire and Ice Elementians have some anger management issues. But I seem to get mine under control. Untill now.

I stopped at the parking lot of Everton High, with my hands ice cold and blue. I held out my hand and froze the road so they'd slip on their backs. But before they could fall, they tore Jane's book too shreds. I turned to Jane, and saw her fierce expression. Her hands scorching with fire, for the first time since we'd met. It's obvious she's ready to strike, because the pages of her book that were flying along with the breeze burst to flames. Okay now I wouldn't wanna mess with her bad side. The Jocks watched in fear as the fire from Jane's hand spread on her black leather jacket all the way to her shoulders. No matter what the Jocks did, I wasn't gonna let Jane roast them alive. So I held her fiery hand in my frozen ones, and cooled her down. She whispers to me, "Thank you".

The Jocks made a run for it, dropping the remains of the book, and getting the hell out of there. "I bet they're not coming tomorrow, they'll probably be in the mental ward" I said trying to cheer her up. But it was a useless attempt. She is crying. She took what is left of The Catcher in the Rye, and sobbed. I couldn't say anything, there was nothing I could promise. I can't promise her I'd find her dad, I can't promise her I'd find a new copy of The Catcher In The Rye, and I can't promise her she'll be alright. But I can promise her that I'll try everything to make her feel better.

"Come on little duck, time to walk home"


	11. The Campbells

I walked Jane home, encouraging her that I'm not gonna let anyone harm her anymore. She really loved that book, and she loved her family too. No matter how fragile her family is, she will always think the best of it. What a great girl. Any guy would be lucky to have her as their lover. It was raining on the way home, so I pulled out my umbrella from my backpack and saved us both from being soaked. "It's beautiful" she says, in a low and broken voice. "What is, Jane?" I said. "How theres a glow on the pavement when it rains, you know, like the Taylor Swift song, Fearless" she said , while hugging my left arm. There's a jolt of electricity that struck me when she touched me. It didnt feel like the normal touch. It felt different. Love, maybe? Can't be. But it makes me wonder, why does she give me butterflies? Why did the Jock called her my girlfriend? Do we look like we're fit for eachother? I don't know, and I don't want to jeopardize this friendship by falling in love with her.

I decided to send her home first. I walked her to her porch, and knocked on the door. "Mom? It's me, and I'm with a friend" she said. A guy with brunette hair, and pitch black eyes opened the door and stared at me as if I was a freak on his doorstep. He examined me fom top to bottom, as if I was a suspect of murder. "Who is this kid, Jane? " he spoke. "Jackson, this is my friend. His name is Chris, he's our front neighbour". "Jackson Vladimir Campbell! Why havent you invited our guest in-" Jane's mother stopped and smiled at me, I guess she remebers me but she's not revealing how she knows me. "Do come in, I understand that you are Arthur Rynes' son, right?". I guess she knows Dad. With a little bit of hesitation, I enter the house. This house smells nice really, smells like rosemary and lavender. pleasant. "My name is Elizabeth, as you have already noticed, I married an Elementian, but I am not one. I am human".

Elizabeth told me about her history and how he met Jane's father when she was 17 and they we're destined to be together, but after the claiming, Jane's father turned dark. But she wouldn't leave him one way or another. Jack told me about how he went through the claiming 2 years ago, he said he turned dark, but he's trying his best to conceal it. For Jane and Elizabeth's sake. "Even if all Elementals are dark, doesnt mean all darks are Elemental" Jack's words keep buzzing in my head. Finally , I thanked Elizabeth for having me over and went home.


	12. Our Little Spot In The Woods

I walked through the door of my home,and walked up to my room. It was time to cast ice to the sky. I saw dad on the edge of my bed with the big book of tricks. Or as he calls it, The Elementia. He turns to face me and patted my back "I need you to focus, Chris. Try to not brew up a snowstorm like you did last year. Try to picture what you want winter to look like this year. Good luck, Christopher" he says closing the door behind him. He left the big book of tricks on my bed and a snowglobe on my bedside table. It was a snowglobe of Idlewild,my home.

I opened the doors to my balcony and breathed in the cold air. I close my eyes and try to imagine what winter might look like. The briskiness of the wind, snowflakes falling on my cheek and melting in my palms and kids laughing around as they dart eachother with snowballs. I place my hands on the railing of my balcony, breathed it all in and opened my eyes. I placed a glass of water on the floor of my balcony and made an icicle out of it. I aimed the icicle to the sky, exhaled and push the icicle forward. Like a shooting star, the icicle peirced the clouds and with a flash of thunder, it started raining snow. No snowstorm, just good ol fashioned snow. Yay! I didnt screw up! Again, Huzzah Christopher!

The little flurries of snow began to collect between my black strands of hair, began to melt on my pale white skin. For the first time in forever, I felt like a kid again. My marvelling was disrupted by a vibration in the pocket of my jeans. It's Jane, she texted me.

"Chris! It's snowing! It's snowing!"  
"I know, Jane! I made it snow"  
"Hey can I see you at Cuithermen Woods?"  
"Sure Jane, I'll be there in a sec" I slid my phone into my pocket and ran downstairs. I wonder why she wanted to see me. I hope she isn't crying again. I left a post-it note on the fridge and ran to Cuithermen Woods.

As I reach the arch of Cuithermen Woods, I saw my bike. That I have left parked by that tree. It's not surprising how it's not stolen. Nobody ever comes here. The people here said that over a decade ago, there was a fire in these woods. They say that the fire took away ten people including five kids. They called the incident, "The Cuithermen Fire". Because of this, the townsfolk think that Cuithermen woods is haunted. I've been roaming through the trees eversince i was a kid. Never saw a ghost. I get closer to the crooked tree, and saw Jane ,hanging upside down from the branch. Below her I could faintly see a drawing on the not-so thick snow. It's a snowflake.

"Hey Cinnamon Chillies! How's it hangin'?" pun intended.

She quickly got down and gave me a hug. "I'm feelin fine, especially in this snow. Oh hey, I have somethin to show ya!" she dragged me to the drawing on the snow. "It's a giant snowflake, I made it for you,since you gave me my first winter snow" she said,tucking her deep brunnette hair behind her ear.

"This is your first encounter with snow?"i asked in a shocked tone.

"Yeah, I've been living in California. Until the Element Leaders moved us here on the end of summer"

"Oh yeah, right... Ericson died last summer"

(Every town has to have at least one elementian of every for water,air,ice,fire,earth and metal. This way, nature won't be out of balance. You're probably wondering what Metal Elementians do, they're purpose is to ensure that the structures in the town or city dont tumble down, thus injuring people. Idlewild has about eight Elementians, let me list them down;-

Fire Elementians:

Ronin Campbell(assigned)  
Jane Campbell

Air Elementians:

Lila Rynes(assigned)

Water Elementians:

Arthur Rynes (assigned)  
Quentin Ericson(Ericson's nephew)

Earth Elementians:

James Rynes(assigned)

Metal Elementians:

Jackson Campbell (assigned)

Ice elementians:

Christopher Rynes (assigned)

Please take note that the word assigned means that she or he was assigned to handle the weather.

Once an elementian dies and there is no other of the same Element, the Leaders of our kind will select a replacement. In this case, Ericson was replaced by Ronin and Quinn -the previous metal elementian- was replaced by Jackson after she left for university)

"Oh yeah, I wanna show you a book I bought" Jane said whilst digging in her bag. She pulled out a book entitled "A Tiny Bit Marvellous" by Dawn French.

"So this is the new book in your collection?"

"Yeah..it's an interesting book, each chapter states whos' p.o.v it is. Now im on chapter 15, Dora" I flipped through the pages and saw a little biography note at the back. Wow,dawn french looks like that lady on Food Network, Ina Garten.

"Thats great, Jane... anyways,why'd you call me here?"

"I wanna experiment with our gifts, you know, maybe we can make something. A sculpture maybe?"

"Ah, I see. I think I have an idea" I say,pulling her up on her feet.

"Spit it out, Jack Frost" she stifled a laugh.

"I make an ice block and you carve it"

"Sounds like a good idea to me"


	13. Crushes And Capabilities

We walked to the nearby lake, the small lake that if from afar, can be seen as a pond. That's how small it is. "Watch this, Jane" I press my palm to the soil at the bottom of the pond-like lake and froze a bit of the water. The block of ice I made bobbed up on the middle of the lake. "It may look shallow, but it's deeper than you think" I say motioning my hand as if pulling the ice towards us. The ice slowly drifts on the surface to the place I placed my hand. Jane and I take it to our little spot.

I sat down on the snow, and observed as Jane intricately carves the 2ft × 2ft block of lakewater ice. "So, who you're makin there? Can I know?" I cleared my throat. "You'll know in a minute, Jack Frost" she stifled a laugh whilst melting a big chunk of ice.

"Um, Chris? "

"Yeah , Jane? "

"Can you tell me more about what our kind is capable of?" she asked.

"Us Elementians, we are gifted with these powers. We have a responsibility . We have to make sure Nature is in balance. but when we are very powerful, things can go wrong. Catastrophic things will happen. For example, powerful Water Elementians can cause major tsunamis simultaneously around the world. Powerful Ice Elementians can storm up the ice age. One of the most dangerous, are strong Earth Elementians. They are capable of controling the earth's can stop it and turned it the opposite way, thus summoning the Apocalypse. Air Elementians can make huge Hurricanes, and what happens when you get stuck in the middle of it? There's no oxygen. Powerful Metal Elementians are apocalyptic as well, they could have the power to destroy buildings on **sight"**

"What about fire Elementians?" she turned to me.

"They can burn all the trees. As you know, trees generate oxygen from co2. And burning things make carbon dioxide. What happens when there are no trees left to make oxygen?"

"There'd be no more oxygen...wow, I never thought of our gifts that way"she said in a low tone.

"Thats why they're called gifts, we always think the best of it" I said with a smile spread wide on my face.

"Chris, I'm done! " she backed up to let me see what she had sculpted.

Then I notice a familiar nose, and familiar hairstyle. Then it came to me.

"Jane, is this Quentin Ericson?" I asked in a shocked tone. This must be something I dont know. She folded her legs next to me and started giggling a bit.,"Chris, I have a secret to tell you. I have a huge crush on Quentin!" I laughed while whispering, "Girls, I'll never understand them".

"He's a water Elementian, a dreamy one. With that fabulous bronze hair, chiseled jaw and dark blue eyes" she lets out one heavy sigh.

"You wanna be his girlfriend?"

"I dream of being it"

"I'll help you get him" somehow is stuttered while saying this.

"Thanks Chris, you are the best friend a girl could ask for"

"Anyways, when's your birthday? Mine's on 7th of February" I said.

"6th January, not long from now"she said .

We'll both be seventeen soon.


	14. Making The First Move

RIIIIIIINGG..

My favourite school bell rang. Today the ring sounded different, it was the ring that free'd us for Winter Break. " 'sup Cinnamon Chillies, I see Quentin right there "she elbowed me and chuckled playfully. I saw Quentin there, standing by his locker in The Everton High Football Team jacket. "I'm gonna go put my books in my locker, dont do anything stupid. I'll be right back" she said while squeezing her way through the crowd of students. This is _the_ perfect time to cast the line. I made my way to where Quentin was and "accidentally" shoved him. Knowing Jane, she's always there to lend a helping hand. I smiled at her as she helped Quentin with his books. I grinned and started to laugh. So I left them and spied on them behind an open locker. I could faintly hear their conversation;

"Oh my god, Quentin are you alright?" Jane said while carrying his books.

"Oh, I'm fine haha, anyways thank you for-" Quentin stopped halfway, staring into her fiery red eyes with his dark blue ones. His gaze says it all. This is definitely love at first sight.

"Hh, hey, I'm Que-Quentin, whats your name?" whoa, he is actually stuttering. Yep, this is love.

"My name's Jane, Jane Campbell" she flashes her million dollar smile at him. Quentin helped her up and they continued conversing.

"Wow, your eyes, they're beautiful"

"I know what you are, Quentin. We're sorta kinda the same"

"Different as water and fire that is" he grinned.

"Umm, you free tonight?" Quentin asked her.

"Yeah, sure I am!" well actually she was supposed to go watch _Catching Fire_ with me, but okay.

"Great, can we go watch a movie?" okay I didnt expect this.

"_Catching Fire? _" unbelievable. God, tell me that Jane Valerie Campbell did not just cancel our tickets just so she could go watch the same movie with her crush. I am very very displeased. But I have to hold it in for her sake.

"I'll pick you up at 9" he winked at Jane. For some reason, my hands were icy blue. So I slid them into my pockets. Quentin walked to the door and Jane headed towards me, all jumpy and bubbly and blushed. "You are never gonna believe this-" I zipped her. "I heard." I said with a non satisfied expression. "Oh my god I'm so sorry, I didn't know what I was thinking, it's just that I was excited-" she said face palming herself. "Nah its okay"

"I'll make it up to you"

"Starbucks? "

"Come on, Jack Frost, were goin to Starbucks"

I guess Starbucks will do, as long as she is still my best friend.


	15. New Year Blues

I'm in a dark room. The floor feels like sand paper. There's a bowl on a stand in the middle of the room. It looks like the same one in the dream on my first day of school. Except there's no waterfal above it. I examine the atmosphere, and it was slightly thicker than the last dream. I went closer to the water, expecting a dark monster but nothing came out. Just plain old water. There was a coin at the bottom of the bowl, I dipped my my finger to take it but the water swirled and evaporated to thin air. The coin was gone too. I heared footsteps behind me. Terrified, I slowly turned around to see a blonde girl with light blue eyes, like mine. She was staring at me. I could feel a sweat droplet rolling down my back. I looked closer and she had a snowflake on her left wrist. She is like me, an Ice Elementian. She stepped closer to me, leaned closer to my lips as if about to kiss me. Then I woke up to the sound of my doorbell ringing. Phew, it's just a dream.

I ran downstairs to see who rang the bell. I opened the door to see Jane, she asked if she could come in. I let her in and we got to my room. She seemed okay, don't know why she'd think of coming over, cause she's got her boyfriend, Quentin, texting her 24/7. But I let her in anyways. I shut the door and sit next to her on my bed. "So, whats up?" she asked me. "I'm cool I guess" I answered. "Six days, Chris. Six days till the claiming day. If I turn dark, please forgive me" she said hugging me. "It's okay, everything will be okay". "Come on Jane, lets go for a walk. Since my parents won't be home till next week, might as well spend new years eve with you. It's still morning though, wanna get breakfast?" I asked running my fingers through my hair. "Okay chris, do you mind if Quentin came along?" she said. "Sure, no harm done" I tried to resist my feelings. She phoned Quentin and he came over. Turns out, he lives in 8th street. I live in 9th street. We all went for breakfast, and took a walk in the park, just the three of us. Honestly, its more like just the 2 of them. They were so ODA, I coukd almost taste jealousy. They were like glued together they kept repeating the word "Quane forever" which I guess they made their own shipname. She didn't even talk to me, she was only with her honey bunch. It went on till night time. It's like she asked for him to follow us just to rub it in my face that he is amazing and all.

It's 11:30 pm. Half an hour till new year. And she's still with Quentin. Has she forgotten that I still exist? I decided to have a little chat with her. "Jane, we have to talk" I said.

"What is it Chris?"

"I still exist you know. You keep treating me like I'm not there or here or anywhere! And it's making me so mad because you-" I didn't know what to call her. She wasn't my lover.

"I am what, Chris? Spit it out. Cause if you're gonna ruin my perfect love life just because of your selfishness towards me. You think you can have me all by your side all the time?! I need some space away sometimes. Deal with it, Chris. Times have changed, Chris"

"Time isn't the only thing that changed. You have, too"

"Oh? So I've changed? TRY AND LOOK AT YOURSELF IN THE MIRROR ONE DAY! YOU KEEP REPELLING YOURSELF FROM ME SINCE ME AND QUENTIN GOT TOGETHER! LIKE WHAT THE HELL CHRIS?!" she shoved me and left to join Quentin who was walking to a garden. She turned to me and said "You're right, time isn't the only thing that changed. We have as well" like that, she left.

The only thing on my mind was what I could've said. That she has been repelling from me, not the other way round. I here people on the street counting down till new year. And when the clock tower rang its bells, it was a whole new year. And I lost my best friend to someone else. I sat down on a bench across the local church and stared at the starry sky. There wasn't anything else I could do to save our friendship. It just ended there, with us shouting. I can't believe we ended it.


	16. Start New

It's time for me to accept that Jane has pushed me out of her life. It's time for me to turn a new leaf. A whole new look, a whole new talk pattern, a whole knew persona. Time for the actual change.

I walked to school alone today, but I didn't care. I dug in James' closet to wear his black leather jacket. Honestly, I look cool in it. (Pun-city!)

I reached the front door, breathed in heavily and walked through the doors. I flash a half smirk, and walk through the hallways. Girls are looking at me like I'm a celebrity, and I see James trying to woo a red haired girl. But as I passed by, she shoved him away and twirled her hair infront of me. Is she flirting with me? But then I saw a girl. She wasn't a normal girl. She was the girl in my dream. The one who nearly kissed me. She exists? Is she an Elementian? I think I should ask her out for a date or something. Oh my goodness, did I just think of asking her out? Huzzah, Christopher. You are grown up.

I bravely walk up to her and ask for her name. So it begins.

"Um, hi. I'm Chris, you're new here?" I say nervously.

She looks at my direction. "Yeah, I moved here from Weston, West Virginia. My name's Emily Viera, I'm seventeen this year" she shook my hand. Wow, she's like an Angel, sent down from heaven. "Hey, wanna walk with me to class?" I feel my cheeks warm up. "Sure, I've got Chemistry, you do too right?" she nodded. So we walked, talked and laughed. I was getting pretty nervous about her powers. I had to know if they were real.

"Can I hold your hand? I wanna show you something" I said.

"Show me what?" she spoke, looking at me with those gorgeous eyes.

"This". with a flash, I froze her hand. She didn't even scream or react. Instead, she smiled in awe. Hooray!

"We're the same" we both said simultaneously.

"Hey, wanna go out sometime? You know, maybe get a drink or something?" I ran my fingers through my hair. It made her blush uncontrollably.

"Sounds great! Hey, can I have your number?" she asked me.

Our fingers intertwined. Heart beating fast. Eye contact deepening. Lips an inch away from eachother. have I finally met _the one?_

I guess so. And that's when the bell rang. Damn bell. Made me miss my first kiss. We rushed to Mrs Harrington's class. I could see Jane at the back, alone.I guess she's jealous. But what do I care? I have Emily.


	17. Sadie Hawkins Dance

I waited patiently outside of her door. Head sweaty, heart beating a mile a minute. She asked me to go to the Sadie Hawkins Dance. Of course, I couldn't say no to my girlfriend. I heard footsteps down the stairs, and the door opened. "Chris! You look amazing!" she jumped into my arms and I spun her around. "You look gorgeous, Em!" I pressed her lips against mine. It's been two weeks since we met, and look at us now. A couple. I drove us to Everton High in James's Volvo. Tonight, he let me borrow it.

I pulled up at the parking lot and walked to the main entrance. Emily clasped my hand in hers. "So, you nervous?" I said.

"A bit, I'm worried that I might end up tripping on my dress"

"Ah, dont worry. If you fall, I'll be there to catch you. I promise"

We reached the doors of Everton High Gym and made our way to the dance floor. I placed my hand on her waist, she placed her hand on my shoulder and we began to dance. I marvelled at her purple flowy dress, with pearls scattered all over the torso area. And a black lace that wraps her waist. Beautiful. her wavy platinum blonde hair, glistening in the light.

"Enjoying this night, Em?"

"It's perfect, Chris...but there's something I have to tell you"

"What is it?" I stroked her cheek.

"We can't talk about it here, lets go outside". We walked to the football field and sat down on the bleachers. Her eyes started to fill with tears. She was about to burst in tears. "Chris, I'm gonna be 17 in 3 days. What happens if I become dark? Or worse, Elemental? I don't know what to do" she covers her face with her hands. I pulled her close to me and hugged her. "You aren't gonna be dark. I can feel it" I console her. When she had her head on my chest, it reminded me of Jane. She's gone through the claiming . I wonder if she's Light or Dark. I hope she's not Elemental. "I love you, Chris" she kissed me and and I kissed back. For some reason, when Emily said the word 'love', the first person that came to my mind was Jane. Do I still love her? Who am I in love with, Emily Viera or Jane Campbell? Just by thinking of Jane while Emily kissing me passionately is wrong enough to make it feel right. Finally, I stopped Emily from kissing me. "Hey Em, how bout we finish this night with a waltz? After that I could take you home" I say wiping my lips with a napkin.

"Okay Chris, lets go. Thanks for loving me" she said, tucking her hair behind her ear. The way Jane used to. I carried her to the gym and we continued to waltz to a song entitled "Flightless Bird" by Iron and Wine. We waltzed like we were the only ones there. As she touched her forehead to mine, I could see Jane, sitting on a table at the edge of the gym. Where's Quentin? Did she come alone? Maybe I should go talk to her. Or maybe I shouldn't, regarding what happened on New Years Eve, it looked like she wouldn't want to talk to me anymore. There's nothing I can do about that.

"I'm gonna make these three days worth it"

"Thats my girl"

"I love you to the moon and back" she said, freezing the flower in my lapel.

"I love you too, Emily"


	18. Goodbye Emily Viera

" That'll be $6.99 , son. Want me to tie it up for ya? No extra cost" the florist said. She handed the bouquet to me. I handed the dollars to her "Thank you ma'am, much appreciated" I walked across the road, to the park in front of the church. I promised Emily that I would meet her there. I sat down on the same bench I sat on during New Years countdown. I pulled out my phone and texted Emily.

"Hey, where are you? And are you okay?"

Instantly,she replied.

"Look behind you"

"There's a water fountain,Em"

"Look beyond... =) "

I turned my head and saw her with a piece of paper in her hand. I ran towards her and hugged her. Moments later, we sat at the bench. For a second, it was awkward silence. I decided to break the silence and ask about that piece of paper.

"So,what's that in your hand?" I put my arm around her.

"I was gonna tell you last night but..."

"A plane ticket? To Dublin? Three hours from now?"

"I'm leaving for the fortress, Chris. I have to be there early so I could take the train to Derry"

(The fortress is the place where all Elementians go on the day of claiming. It's located somewhere in Londonderry,Northern Ireland. The fortress is also the HQ of the Element Leaders. From there, they have every record of every elementian assigned to the weather of every town or city)

"Oh, I see. You will be coming back. Right?" I asked worrily.

"I don't think so, Chris. I can feel myself turning dark. I can't seem to let go of my bad past, so it increases the chances of me becoming Dark or worse, Elemental" she says,in a shaky voice.

"Emily, tell me that bad past, who knows if I could help take it away?"

"Four years ago, my parents were in a fight. It was one of those husband-wife fights. But they took it to the next level. My father found out that my mom was cheating on him with this man named Alexander. My dad dragged my mom to the nearby forest, and pinned her to a tree. My father set her body on fire. But then something shocked me. He impaled my mother with a thorn-like branch. My father was an Elemental. That's when I got scared and ran away from my father. I ran till I reached a small hut. I sat there and cried. Then, epiphany came. I had to survive on my own since then. And I can feel the pain whenever I think of her. I can't let it go ,Chris" she buries her face to my chest.

"I'm so sorry... I never knew"

"And I don't blame you. Really I don't" she says wiping her tears.

"Is this goodbye, Emily?'

"I'm so sorry, Christopher Rynes, nonetheless you taught me what love meant. And you made me feel, loved. I can't thank you enough for that" she says giving me a hug. Boy, was this hard to face. Your girlfriend that you haven't even been with for two months is going away. Forever, most likely.

She stood up, and walked away. I could see her tears splashing on the ground as she walks, farther, and farther away. Till she dissapears from sight and I noticed that I didn't even kiss her goodbye. Like that, she was gone from my life.

Did I really love her? Cos if I did, I'd probably be chasing her by now. But my feet are glued to the ground.

I guess Emily and I were meant to be, but not meant to last.

"Goodbye,Emily Viera"


	19. 16 Years And 364 Days

Tomorrow.

Tomorrow, my future awaits.

Tomorrow, I become a man.

Tomorrow, I turn seventeen.

"Chris, we're leaving in ten minutes" James shouts from the car in the driveway. He's loading the bags. I'm still here, on my bed. Thinking. I'm dressed in what my mum calls "a gentlemen's clothing". Which was a long sleeved shirt with cufflings and a tight vest. And a silver tie to finish it. I'll be leaving for Derry in a few minutes. As soon as the plane lands, we're gonna go to the fortress. Out of nowhere,mom walks in and sits next to me on my bed.

"Sweetheart, don't be scared...even if you turn dark, you still can live with us. The regulations don't say anything about leaving the family once you are Elemental or Dark"

"That's not what I'm worried about, mom...I'm worried that I become Elemental and hurt you"

"You wont, Christopher...I better help your father with the things. You come down in five minutes,okay?"

I nodded and she went downstairs. I lie down on my bed and hear a rustling noise out my window. I quickly got up and checked if it was a racoon I heard. But instead, it was Jane. She climbed up to my balcony and knocked on the glass doors. I opened those doors and let her in.

"Jane?! What are you doing here?!" I said in a loud whisper.

"It's nice to see you again too, Chris", she said in an annoyed tone.

"Why are you here, Jane?" I said normally.

"I remembered that tomorrow is your birthday. So I thought that it was a good idea to come and talk to you before you go. You know, a short good-luck"

"Oh,thank you...about your birthday,are you Light?"

"Thankfully...but no sign of my dad..he's dissapeared completely"

"I'm sorry to hear that"

I hear my father walking up the stairs, calling my name. I really didn't want to say goodbye to Jane but I have to.

"Jane, you have to leave. I'm leaving for Derry now. Thank you for coming and wishing me luck..appreciate it"

"Safe trip" she said with a half smile.

She jumped down from my balcony and ran to her house. It's amazing how she has the power to land safely from the second floor of my house to the ground and still manage to run. What a Career Tribute. I rushed downstairs and got in the car. My father drove us to Wild Rose Airport. We got in the plane and flew off to Dublin, then take another plane to Derry.


	20. Elementeyya

"It's peaceful, I'll tell you that" I said wandering out the window.  
"It hasn't changed much since my claiming" James said.

It's all green, yellow and pink from here, the wide fields of daisies, petunias and freshly watered crops. If I thought about it again, I could actually enjoy living here. So peaceful. If this is where the fortress is, Goodbye Idlewild and Hello Londonderry!

"Hey dad, is this where The Fortress is?"

"Oh, not even close. The Fortress is on top of a peak. The locals call it, Elementeyya. The Elementian locals, that is. Humans think this place is haunted. For us, it's sacred. This is where the first Elementian was born. His name is still lost to this very day, but his descendants, live here. You'll know them soon" he says smiling at me on the mirror.

"Why is that, dad?"

"'Cause the descendants are some of the Element Leaders. Brother and sister. Twins, basically" James snapped.

"Ah, I see"

"There it is, do you see it? On the cliff facing the ocean" dad pointed to a 15th century castle. So that must be it. The Fortress, or as the locals adress it, Elementeyya.

Dad pulled up by a forest. Since The Fortress is categorized as "abandoned", the goverment doesn't even consider checking it out. There's a road in that forest, that leads up to Elementeyya. "It's a long walk up, but try to not stop moving your feet. It really helps" James tells me.

We hiked for about 1 hour or so, till we reached what seemed like a cave, but it wasn't a cave. It was an entrance. On the big wooden door, there was the same symbol from the big book of tricks. The open lotus with a sword. This is it.

My father pushes the big, heavy door open and a flight of stairs were in our sight. We walked up, and got to the top of 'em. Wow,it was a great, big hall with intricate designs on the walls and floor. There were 6 walls, on each one, an Elementian birthmark of every Element. But underneath the earth symbol, another door. This time, no intricate designs, no nothing. Just plain 'ol Mahogany.

"This is as far as we go, Chris. You'll have to go alone from here" mom said hugging me. So did my father and brother. They let go of me and I walk through the door alone. Shutting it as soon as I'm past the threshold. I turned to see 6 thrones. Each with an Element on it. A square with another square in it for metal, a tree for earth, a moon for water, some swirls for air, a snowflake for ice and fire for well, fire. This must be where the Leaders rule. But they're not here. Why is that? I checked the hall out, looked at the painitngs on the wall, and recognized one of them. It's a painting of Joan Of Arc. Why would she be here?

"Joan was a Fire Elementian. Unexpected, right?" a raspy voice says. I turned to see a grey haired man alongside a grey haired woman dressed in a suit and a dress. They must be the twin leaders.

"Hello, Christopher. My name is Demetri. This is my sister, Delevigne"

"Of course, I am The Leader of Ice Elementians. Myy brother is The Leader of Water Elementians. We have been expecting you. Welcome to Elementeyya, Christopher" Delevigne says guiding me to the thrones.

"If I may,ma'am...Where are the other Element Leaders?"i asked shyly.

"Oh, they are on their way. Have not to worry,young one" wow,she speaks as old as this castle.

Suddenly, I heard footsteps coming our way. I squinted to see who, expecting my family, but instead, the four other Leaders. One dressed in a pitch black dress, the others in suits. There's only one way to indicate what Element the Male Leaders are, are the clasp pins on their suits. The pins are birthmarks. Easy to tell.

"My name is Alistair, I am the leader of Fire Elementians" the blonde one says. He looks as old as my dad. Probably in his late forties.

"My name Is Aristotle, I am the leader of Earth Elementians. Pure pleasure to meet you .. may I introduce my wife, Alexandria, the Element leader of Metal.

"And my name is Lancaster, I am the Leader of Air Elementians" Lancaster looks the oldest amongst all six of them, probably in his sixties.

"Truly a pleasure to meet The Leaders of our kind" I say kneeling on the ground how those knights on TV do. I rise and Delevigne guides me to the sacred chamber. She pushes the door open and the sight shocks me.

It's the same chamber in my dream.

"I'll leave it to you, Christopher. May the odds be what you have hoped for" she left, leaving me in the chamber. I walk closer to the bowl and unbutton my cufflings and place my left wrist through the gushing water above the bowl. It's like a birdbath, only with a mini waterfall on it.

It didn't take long till I saw what I had to see. It only took about half a second. I had to see a vision.

My vision started with a bright light blinding my eyes. That's a sigh of relief, I'm Light. But then I saw myself bending ice, and then water, and then air, followed by earth and metal, and finally,fire. I could feel a burning sensation on my left wrist. It's so painful, I pull my hand out even before the vision ended. I fell to the ground in a state of horror. Terrified of what might happen, I checked my left wrist to see if it changed.

And it has. But something is different.  
It isn't a diamond in the middle,  
Its a four-pointed star.  
I am Elemental.


	21. Sworn To Secrecy

"No- this, this isn't possible" I mumble to myself. What am I going to do? How will I face this? How will I face my future? How am I gonna chill with this?

"Get yourself together, Christopher! You can face this" I whisper to myself trying to calm down. Breathe in,,breathe out. Once I got my heartbeat steady, I got up on my feet, buttoned up my sleeve and make myself look presentable. Okay, if my family asks, I'll tell them I'm Light. I never lie, so they won't suspect anything. Of course, I'm gonna tell a white lie. (A white lie is basically telling half the truth. Technically it isn't lying at all. Because you are telling the truth, just not all of it)

I push the doors open, walk confidently and keep my mouth spread in a smile. I'm quite good at fake smiling, if i do say so myself.

"There he is, how was it my boy?" my dad appears to be in the throne hall.

"It was cool, dad" I answer with my hands in my pocket.

"You are Light?" Demitri and Delevigne asked with a smile.

"Yes, thankfully" I smile my most sincere smile.

"Come on, son. Let's go back home to Idlewild" my dad patted me on my back. Thank god he didn't check my birthmark.

I was walking to the staircase when someone yanked me to the back with force. It was Alistair. "I can sense that you weren't candor with us, Christopher Rynes. Better watch your back" I yanked my arm back, runnin' down the stairs.

Dad took a lead down the peak, so I told my dad that I'd like to run back to the car. He didn't question my decision, and I made a run for it. These are one of the ways to calm myself down. So I ran, and ran and ran till I reached the car. I didn't see mom or James, so I'm guessing dad sent them back to the hotel. I jumped in the car and waited patiently for dad to get in. I tried to manipulate what Alistair said to me. Telling myself that the only message he was trying to say was that I should shut my piehole about this. Breathe,Chris. Breathe. My Father got in, fired up the ol' engine and drove us back to the hotel. Along the way, I fell asleep.

I woke up to the sound of the TV turning on. I'm in the hotel room with my brother. Did I sleepwalk?

"So, how was the claiming?" James asked while rummaging through the mini fridge.

"Oh, it was cool", I say nervously.

"You okay bro? You look pale"

"I'm fine, James. Just a bit jetlagged"

"Ah,me too"

"Come on, go back to sleep. We're leaving first thing tomorrow. I took the liberty of  
packing your things for you"

"Thank you, James" I say pulling the sheets on me.

He turns the lights off, and goes to sleep. I,on the other hand, am wide awake. I lay in my bed, thinking about what I should do with the birthmark on my wrist.

I got it! I have to train myself to conceal my powers. But first, I need Jane to teach me to control them. She is the only one I trust with my secret. Till tomorrow, I have to calm down.


	22. Flaming Ice

"Thank you for choosing American Airlines,mwe wish you a safe trip home and goodbye!" the steward spoke on unbuckled my seatbelt and pulled off my jacket. I took my stuff from the bagagge compartment and disembarked the plane. We went through the security check and the imigration thingy. We booked a taxi home . Mom is off to the pharmacy, to get some medicine. She's been feverish, lately. So dad drove us home.

I crossed the threshold and went to my room. I unpacked my stuff and helped my mom and dad unpack too. Soon,the house was clear and quiet. Most of them are lagged so they're fast asleep decided that it was the right time to sneak to Jane's house. I walked quietly out my door, trying to not make any noise, till I see my neighbour, Aiden trying to start his car. He didn't do much of a good job so the gasket blowed up. I ran to her house and climbed up to her saw her arranging some stuff on her table. I gave her window a knock or two. She looked shocked to see me, cos I wasn't using my powers. She walked up to the window and slid it open.

"Chris! What are you doing?!" she asked in a tone more to scolding than worried.

"Well aren't you gonna help me in?" I said.

"Oh, yes. Okay" she pulled me into her room. I landed with a thud on her floor and quickly got up.

"Answer my question, Chris" she snapped at me.

"I have a secret to tell you, but it isn't safe being told here. Come with me to Cuithermen Woods" she walks down the stairs and I jump out the window, gesturing my hands like I do to make a snow bed, but instead fire came blasting out of my palms. Of course, the fire was on snow so it put out itself. I left a post-it note on my fridge and walked to Cuithermen Woods.

Jane and I reach there at the same time. She sat under the crooked tree. Our little spot.

"What is the secret, Chris?" she asked in her silky smooth voice.

I start to tear up but I had to suck it up.  
I held out my left wrist and folded my sleeve just enough for her to see my new birthmark. She gasped and then quickly covered her mouth with her hands. I could tell she was shocked.

"But why is it a star?"she asked.

"That's what I'm trying to find out. For now, I need you to teach me to control fire"

"Okay. Get the big book of tricks. The solutions are all in there. I'm sure of it" she says, brushing her hair back with her hand. She's worried alright.


	23. A Shocking Discovery

"Flip to page 254. How to make a burning sensation. It goes a little bit like this" she touches me on my neck and gives me a horrible burning sensation. Somethin' like the volturi girl, Jane always does. Haha funny how they're both named Jane.

I shrieked in pain as she burned me mentally. I felt out of breath as soon as she let go of her grip. "Look here, it says that one of the ways to kill an Elemental is to make them feel excruciating pain and then stab them in the heart"mshe says pointing to a note written in old english.

"Focus on pain,,Chris. Think of things that'll make you really angry. Then channel them to your palms"

The time when Jane forgot about me.  
That is what made me the angriest I've ever been. I know I let it go a long time ago, but now, I have to let it fester. Come on, Chris. Think of how you felt when she left. Without a goodbye. Think of how she looked at him. Think of how broken you felt when she left you for the better looking. Think of your shattered heart. I held Jane's arm and burned it mentally. She was screaming in pain.

"STOP- STOP AAAHH -IT BURNS" she shouted at me. I could tell she was really in pain. I couldn't watch it anymore, so I let go of her hand. She gasped for air, coughing violently.

"Oh my gosh, are you okay?" I said helping her up.

"You Elementals are stronger than I thought-" she ends that sentence with a cough. I give her a moment to get her mojo back.

"Oh and one thing, if you practice alot, you can burn them even without touching them" she said. She sat down beside me.

"Umm, Jane?"

"Yes?"

"What happened to Quentin?"

She rolled her eyes at me. I wonder why.

"Quentin is a selfish jerk" she said with an angry expression.

"Do you know what he did to me?" she said with tears running down her cheeks.

"He nearly raped me...but I got out of his house in time" her voice starts to break, I wrapped my arms around her and let her cry on my chest. She was abused or almost abused. She had a lucky escape.

"I'm so deeply, truly sorry for this, Jane"

She pushed my arms away and got up. She torched her hands and started running. Burning everything that was in her way. She's releasing her stress. I just follow her quietly, letting her go on a tantrum for as long as she needs to. She ran and ran then she stopped.

She stopped at an old, abandoned house. I run to her side and looked at the old house. She looked at me and asked if I wanted to go in, I said yes. We went in, and saw nothing but furniture covered in plastic sheets. And at the back of the house, is what seemed to looked like the remains of a kitchen.

"It's burnt to the ground" she says.

"This is the house of the ill-fated 10 people"

"The Cuithermen Fire" she whispered.

I walk to the burnt backyard and see an old bicycle. It had supporting wheels at the back of it and closer to what looks like a grill, is a stuffed animal.

"Hey look- there...its a -" she pauses and starts to sob.

"A tea party set" I said in a broken voice. Imagine those little kids, riding their bikes, playing with their teddies and bunnies, and having a "pretend" tea party. This is sad to the point I start crying. And I dont usually cry. I took one step forward and here a crackling sound. I kneeled to see what I have stepped on, and Jane kneels beside me.

"Its a card" she said. I took a closer look and what is written breaks me to a million pieces.

"Happy Birthday Mommy" I read out what was written on it. "We hope we all can live a long l-" the rest of the sentence was burnt to a crisp. I'm guessing the kid was trying to say '_we hope we all can live a long happy life together_'. But they didn't. They died on the spot. There was a date there, it was 19th October 1994. Ten Years ago.

"Oh my god..." Jane sighed.

I can't imagine the pain they went through.


	24. More About Fire Bending

"Come on, let's go back to the look at me, I promise you I won't let anyone hurt you ever again. We could be the old us again" I say taking her hands in mine.

"Okay, but even if you can't keep your promise, I forgive you" she hugged me so tight I couldn't breathe. It was nice having her back in my arms. It gave me a feeling that she could be mine, one day. Maybe not now, but one day.

Sudden realisation. I am irrevocably in love with Jane Valerie Campbell.

I help her up to her feet and walk back to the crooked tree. With her hand clutching my left arm. We sat down under the tree, with the book spread open.

"Okay, next I'm gonna teach you how to control your flames" she said, setting her hands on fire.

"How?" I said

"Thrust your arms to the back with force, just enough to torch your hands. When you get a hold of that, try not to let so much fire blaze up. Level it"

I breathed in, and thrusted my arms backwards. Instead of fire, I kinda splitted a small tree in two. Dammit.

"Okay, try focusing on fire. You're a science nerd right? Think of what fire is made of" that's easy. I closed my eyes and thought of fire is made of.

Fire is the result of a chemical reaction called, combustion. At a certain point in the combustion reaction, called the ignition point, flames are produced. Flames consist primarily of carbon dioxide, water vapor, oxygen and nitrogen. Fire emits light and heat. In order for combustion and fire to occur, three things must be present:fuel, oxygen, and energy. (usually in the form of heat)

"Chris,open your eyes! Your hands are on fire!" she says tossing some snow on them. I instantly jerk and wipe the snow away from my jeans and hands. I started laughing uncontrollably. Silly girl, she must've forgotten that I can control fire as well as ice.

"Chris, get up. I want you to throw a fireball at that tree you splitted"

And so I torched up, and surprisingly I managed to level my flames on my first few tries. I moved my arms as if to throw a spear, but instead,im throwing fireballs. Cool. In a blink of an eye, the tree burst to flames.

"That's good, Chris" she smiled at me . I guess I impressed her.

I sat down under the crooked tree and spent the whole day flipping through the pages of the book with Jane. We both gained from that book. At times like these, the book REALLY comes in handy. We tried lots of tricks and some moves till we feel so drained that we could just sleep there. We both lie down and stare at the sun.

"Does your mom know?" she looks at me.

"I only told you"

"You're gonna have to tell them at some point, Chris"

"I know,Jane. I know. But till then, I have to learn to use it and then conceal it"

"And I'm gonna help you as much as I can" she said.

I stare back to the sky and think of how this will end.

Probably with me being dicapitated by the rest of the Elementals.


	25. Glittery Trouble

I walked down the hallway alone. Jane's not coming today, she isn't feeling very well. I go to my locker and grab my books. I put on my gloves and put my hands in the pockets of my jacket. Hopefully nothing out of the ordinary happens today.

"Hey Chris, how ya doin?" a cheerleader approached me. It's the popular girl, Victoria. Or as her "girlfriends" address her, Glittoria. It's a cross between Glitter and Victoria. She is famous for the glittery dress she wore last year for prom. That dress, apparently made it to the front page of the local newspaper. We've been calling her Glittoria ever since.

"Um,okay I guess?" I say oddly.

"You free tonight?" she said. Wait a minute. Is she asking me out?

"I'm really sorry Glittoria, but I have feelings for another girl" I said, walking away. I didn't wanna make her wait, so I told her the truth. That I have feelings for someone else. She looked at me in disbelief. I guess that's the first time a boy said 'no' to a date proposal from her. I could feel the wind in the hallway start to stir up so I thought of things that will calm me down. I got to Mr Norton's class for history.

I could feel a storm brewing up outside.

This is not gonna end well.

For the whole time during history, I tried to calm myself down. If I didn't, bad things will happen. Bad, bad, bad things. I could see lightning flashing out of the window, thunder rumbling, sky darkening. Ugghhh... keep your cool, Chris! I place my head on my table and try to block out any sound.

"Mr Rynes,are you okay?" Mr Norton asked.

"Uhh I'm sorry Mr Norton I have to go-" i said while grabbing my stuff and heading to the boys' toilet. I didn't care about the other kids who were staring at me while I was walking out. Better safe than sorry.

"I did not excuse you Mr Rynes-" he said to me but I didn't care.

I push the door open and spun the water faucet. I washed my face, wet my hair and stare at my reflection in the mirror. My skin was pale. I feel my neck to check if I'm having a fever or something, but my skin remains cold as usual. I don't think I should've came today. Yup, bad idea. I decided to lock myself in a stall untill school is over.

I think to myself, what is the cause of this?

Maybe it's Glittoria. Maybe my comfortability affects my powers. It's not surprising really, Glittoria is trouble on high heels. I get the thought of Glittoria out of my head and focused on the good things, Jane is my friend again, James got a tattoo of a vine which ended on his birthmark, and Mom getting a promotion at the hospital. The little things that make me calm.


	26. Thinking The Unthinkable

I should run. It's safer that way. For both my family and myself. I can live alone, a nomad perhaps, and travel the world. But I can't make myself seen. I can't be apart of civilization anymore. The Elementals can track me that way.

I lay down on my bed and stare at the ceiling. My parents would surely miss me, but I can live with that as long as I know they're safe. Nothing else matters, I just want my loved ones safe. I can't let them get involved in my problem. I sit up on my bed, looking at the photos on my wall. A photo of me and my dad when I won my first science competition when I was 12, a family photo and a photo of James and I. Thinking about all these memories just makes me feel guilty. But I shouldn't feel guilty, I'm doing whats' best for them.

Most people get scared when they think of the word "sacrifice". The thing that comes in mind is us having to give up something we can't live without, for someone we love. Though it will damage us, but it will matter to someone. And that, is the greatest thing of all.

In this case, I have to give up my family and friends in order to spare their lives.

It's painful, but its' better this way.


	27. Goodbye,Idlewild

It's 12 : 30 pm. I grab my backpack and put a few bars of granola into it. I look around for things to put, and I grab my tin cup. i stare at the wall and grab our family photo. I remove it from the frame and hid it in between the pages of my notebook. I go through my drawers and find an envelope with 500 dollars in it. Then I remember where I got it. I got it from a competition I won last year. I grab my phone from my side table and remove the SD card. This way,my family can't track me. I also removed the apps that use GPS location. I grab the charger and an external battery to charge it with. I walk quietly downstairs to the bookcase and grab the big book of tricks. Dad would surely kill me if he knew I took the book, but hey, I have other dangers to deal with.

I grab three cans of dad's energy drink. I search the kitchen for things that would be useful, aha! My pocketknife! Okay, I have everything I need... what am I forgetting? Then it gets me. I haven't said goodbye. By right, I shouldn't, cos it's a runaway, but I just want to see them one last time. I walk upstairs to my parents' room and push the door open. The smell of vanilla lavender seeps in. I start to tear up as I walk in, knowing it's the last time I'll be seeing the woman who gave birth to me and the man who taught me how to ride a bike. I see them both in their bed, snoozing away, peacefully. I kneel by mother's side, and whisper to her ear.

"Thank you mom, for everything. I love you forever" I kiss her forehead. I get up and kneel on dad's side. I whisper into his ear, quiet enough not to wake him.

"Dad, thanks for everything. I'm sorry that I had to do this, I have no other choice" I kiss his forehead and leave the room.

Next, I head to James' room. I sat at the edge of his bed and marvel at my amazing brother. I look around his room and see all our memories together, our first soccer game, our guitar lessons, his first day of middle school. As brothers, of course we fought at times. But at times like these, you really appreciate the stinkhead you call your brother. You were an awesome brother, James.

I step out the threshold of my home and thought about Jane. The girl I love, and she doesn't even know it. And I have to leave her. I can't bare to say goodbye to anyone else, so I turn to the woods that lead to nowhere, and ran.

Goodbye,Idlewild.

END OF BOOK ONE.


End file.
